The Clans

"Collection of militaristic pseudo-tribal groups descended from military forces that fled the Inner Sphere hundreds of years ago. Technologically superior to the inhabitants of the Inner Sphere, the Clans have returned to 'liberate' the Inner Sphere from the 'barbarians' who rule it".

The Clans are not exactly the "bad guys" of the BattleTech; They aren't more evil than anyone else in the universe, even if the Inner Spherepropaganda tries to hint that way.

They are just radically different from the world as we know it; They are conformists, they have a caste system, they breed their warriors artificially, they control their gene pools with stress on one's lineage (eugenics program), and have interesting honor ideals.

The Clans have two political factions - the Wardens that think they should protect the Inner Sphere from outside threats, and the Crusaders that think they should just invade the IS and liberate them.

Clan Wolf - Regarded as the "father" Clan, as it is the only Clan with the KerenskyBlood Name. At the commencement of the Clan Invasion, Clan Wolf was quite easily the largest and strongest Clan, and was expected to capture Terra and become the ilClan in short time. Clan Wolf was the strongest and of the most thoughtful Clans, however the Clan was always divided in opinion as to whether to Clans should have commenced the Clan Invasion so soon, or waited till a later date. Those for the Invasion were known as Crusaders, and those against it were known as Wardens. After the Trial of Refusal fought against Clan Jade Falcon, the Clan was greatly weakened, and the aforementioned Crusaders and Wardens split. The Warden Faction (Clan Wolf In-Exile) moved to the Inner Sphere and allied itself with the Lyran Commonwealth. The Crusaders continued with the Invasion, however Clan Wolf was insignificant after this division.

Clan Jade Falcon - The most swift and headstrong of the Clans, Clan Jade Falcon's strength and size was only superceded by Clan Wolf. They were the most adamant in ensuring the Clan Invasion went ahead and first to invade the Inner Sphere. Clan Jade Falcon's only weakness was the aforementioned headstrong attitude. Clan Jade Falcon fought an epic Trial of Refusal against Clan Wolf, spreading over a great many worlds. This Trial lasted many years and saw Clan Wolf decimated, but Clan Jade Falcon similarly wounded. Clan Jade Falcon now is stronger than Clan Wolf, though plays little part in the Invasion.

Clan Smoke Jaguar - Clan Smoke Jaguar was the most impudent, vicious and aggressive Clan. Clan Smoke Jaguar was not as swift or headstrong as Clan Jade Falcon, as they often stopped to think on their actions momentarily, but when they did initiate their attacks they did so with great speed and verocity. Clan Smoke Jaguar's major weakness was their poor autonomy, which could not keep up with the Clan's speed.

Clan Steel Viper - One of the smaller Clans, Clan Steel Viper held no special traits which distinguished them from the other smaller Clans, other than the fact they fought independently and still managed to inflict major damage upon the Inner Sphere.

Clan Diamond Shark - Like Clan Steel Viper, Clan Diamond Shark was a smaller Clan with no special traits. They too, however, fought well and independently in the Invasion.

Clan Ice Hellion - Of similar size to Clan Steel Viper and Clan Diamond Shark. Clan Ice Hellion was an eccentric Clan with unique warriors which fought expertly in snow terrains and especially blizzard conditions. In this regard they were similar to Clan Ghost Bear, although they did not win the oppurtunity to join in the Clan Invasion.

Clan Cloud Cobra - Clan Cloud Cobra was a small, isolated Clan near Clan Nova Cat territory. The two Clans were very close in the respect that they both favoured energy weapons and they followed the Nova Cat's religion as loyally as they followed their own Khan. Clan Cloud Cobra participated in the Clan Invasion, joining Clan Nova Cat.

Clan Hell's Horses - One of the most elite, but also smallest, Clans. Clan Hell's Horses won a place in the Clan Invasion and did extremely well, however its size caused problems and when the Inner Sphere turned to the offense, Clan Hell's Horses took massive losses when rallied with wave after wave of Inner Sphere forces.

Clan Coyote - Also an extremely small, yet moderately strong, Clan. Clan Coyote had strong ties with Clan Wolf, although did not join in the Invasion as they lacked the size, strength or autonomy.

Clan Blood Spirit - The smallest and weakest of all the Clans. Clan Blood Spirit did not join in the invasion, and indeed did little to help the Clans, ever. They withdrew from the Outer Rim into unknown space well before the Clan Invasion, only leaving forces on Strana Mechty and York.

Clan Wolverine - A Clan that was insanely jealous of Nicholas Kerensky favouring Clan Wolf, and not allowing Clan Wolverine any of the Kerensky Blood Names. In the early days of the Clans, Clan Wolverine rebelled against the Clan Society and declared its intentions to break away. This sparked off civil war throughout the Outer Rim, and caused Clan Wolf to fight the only Trial of Annihalation ever fought in Clan history. Clan Wolverine, all its warriors and Blood Names were utterly annialhated. The Clans name was erased from Clan archives and no Clanner will even dare to utter its name any longer.

Clan Society

The Clans had a very honourable and militaristic society. It was extremelybrutal and conformist - those who defied were eliminated. Such a society over many years, however, created an extremely civilized, controlled and powerful society. The Clans used Trials to settle all disputes, from a matter of honour to a matter of life. Six Trials (and one variant Trial) were used, and all Trials were conducted in a similar matter. The parties involved first had to petition their Clan Council or, if the matter was serious enough, the Grand Council. When the matter was allowed the appropriate preceedings were carried out. Both parties had to announce the forces they intended to use, and for honour's sake, the Clans always used the smallest forces possible. The battleground(s) were designated by the warrior or Clan who called for the Trial. The following is a brief description of these such preceedings:

Trial of Position - A Trial of Position was used to decide the rank of the warrior in question. The warrior enters a Circle of Equals (a circle that only the parties involved may enter) and three warriors lay idle at the edge of the Circle of Equals. At the same time, another warrior is carrying out their Trial. The warriors survey the Mechs at the edge of the Circle of Equals, and may either leave the circle in shame (should they believe they cannot win, though this rarely happened) or they may fire upon one or more of the Mechs. Whatever Mechs they fire upon shall power-up and commence attack upon the warrior in question. If no Mechs are destroyed, the warrior fails and does not advance rank. If one, two or three Mechs are destroyed, the warrior gains one, two and three ranks respectively. If a warrior destroys all three of his Mechs they may request another Mech from the other warrior fighting his Trial at the same time. If the other warrior concedes a Mech then the warrior may fire upon him and initiate another battle to gain another rank.

Trial of Grievance - A Trial of Grievance was used to settle small disputes of honour. If one warrior dishonours another, either of the warriors may call for a Trial of Grievance. The two warriors are both assigned Mechs/Vehicles of equal tonnage, which they are unfamiliar with, and are allowed one week to become accustomed to them. They then enter the Circle of Equals, and only the two warriors may enter. The fight is designated to the death, although the warriors often cease before then and save the Clans from losing a warrior. Winning this Trial procures nothing other than regained Honour - which was more important than anything else in Clan Society.

Trial of Possession - When two warriors or Clans laid claim to the same object (whether it be a planet, a Blood Name, information, the right to a Trial etc.) a Trial of Possession is fought. Trials of Possession were large and as such were fought on battlegrounds, not in Circles of Equals. The loser of the Trial had to concede the object to the winner without further objection.

Trial of Refusal - This Trial could be initiated at anytime before a Trial is fought. For example, if the Grand Council ruled that Clan Wolf could absorb Clan Wolverine, Clan Smoke Jaguar may call for a Trial of Refusal before the Trial of Absorption commences. In the reverse, if Clan Smoke Jaguar won a Trial of Possession then Clan Wolf could not call for a Trial of Refusal on the Trial of Possession as the Trial of Possession had already been fought. If the winner of the Trial was for the disputed matter, then the matter would proceed as before, however, if the winner was against the disputed matter, then the matter would not proceed and new arrangements had to be made. Trials of Refusal were also large battles fought only by Clans and were fought in battlegrounds, not Circles of Equals.

Trial of Absorption - A very serious Trial. This Trial can only be allowed by the Grand Council. If a Clan is seen as unfit to rule, then another Clan may call for a Trial of Absorption. If the Grand Council rules the Trial to commence, then the Clan to be absorbed is not allowed to act until the Trial, and all other Clans must fight Trials of Possessions to see which Clan will win the right to absorb the Clan in question. Once the Clan has been decided upon the Trial commences. If the Clan to be absorbed wins, then the absorption is called off, if the Clan to be absorbed loses then the absorption continues. When a Clan is absorbed into another, the Clan being absorbed loses all its ruling caste and its resources, Blood Names, territory, warriors, Mechs etc. are all surrendered to the Clan that won the Trial of Absorption.

Trial of Annihalation - The most serious Trial, and only used once in Clan history. This trial can only be allowed by the Il-Khan after the Grand Council has allowed it. If a Clan is so radical in defiance then a Clan can call for a Trial of Annihalation. The Clan that nominates the Trial usually wins the right, as nothing is gained from the Trial other Clans are not interested in the right. If the clan to be annihalated wins, the annihalation is called off, if, however, they lose then every warrior, politician, citizen and Blood Name is destroyed and all records of the Clan erased from the Archives; territory of the annihalated Clan is divided equally among the remaining Clans. This is such a severe action that the Clans are very reluctant to use it, and always prefer to nominate a Trial of Absorption.

Trial of Blood Name - This Trial is a simple variant to a Trial of Possession mixed with a Trial of Grievance. There are fourteen slots for this Trial. Thirteen warriors are nominated for the first thirteen slots, and the last slot is reserved for a warrior which wins the right to compete in the Trial of Bloodname through other Trials of Possession. All fourteen warriors are given Mechs of equal tonnage and given a month to prepare for the Trial. A Circle of Equals is drawn and the fourteen warriors enter a melee. The last standing warrior wins the Trial and the right to add his genetics to its Clan's Blood Name.

Clan Eugenics

When Aleksander Kerensky initiated the Exodus, he brought with him 800 commanders. Those 800 commanders were the finest in the Star League Defence Force (S.L.D.F). As such, when Kerensky made his 20 Clans, he extracted the DNA from each of these 800 commanders and gave 20 to each Clan. He ordered these Clans to use this DNA to breed all its warriors with, so that the greatness of the original 800 commanders was carried throughout the generations. Each year the Clans held 20 Trials of Blood Name (one for each of its Blood Names), and the winning warrior added his genes to the Blood Name. This was the highest possible honour within Clan society. Over the generations, this mixing of the "elite of the elite" meant that every True-Born (a warrior born with a Blood Name) was an extremely deadly opponent. With genes for fighting, and brought up from day one only knowing war, True Born warriors were the greatest in the universe. As war was such an important aspect in Clan Society, True Borns were revered while Free-Born (born without a Blood Name) were reviled and discriminated against. True-Born were placed in its Clan's warrior caste by default, and although the Clans used Free-Born in their armies, it was not an easy task. A free-born first had to endure training from a disgruntled Free-Born trainer (being a Free-Born trainer was a great demotion and a dishonour to the trainer's name) and then the Free-Born had to face three True-Born in a Trial of Position. As long as the Free-Born managed to destory one Mech then he gained Mechwarrior status. Free-born occassionally won Trials of Blood Name and were long revered aftwerwads.

The Clan Invasion

The Clans invaded the Inner Sphere in 3050. As mentioned above, the Clans should have won the Invasion. Below is a list of reason why the Clans should have, and why the Clans did not, win: